I was up early, and heading to get coffee. When I walked out into the cold winter morning my eyes were drawn up to the night sky and I found myself gazing at the moon. It was just a sliver of light and yet I could see the rest of the moon in shadow. I was caught off guard by how bright the sliver of light was. I found myself in awe of the way the light was shining on it and yet only a small portion was lit up. This moment in time was joy for me. When I returned after getting the coffee I found myself wanting to take more time to take in the moon. That sliver was so bright and the whole moon was so beautiful.
This moment in time stayed with me, which was surprising, it was “just” the moon. I’ve seen that moon for so many years now and yet this moment there was something that I connected with. When I was heading to the office to see clients the sun was so bright and I could no longer see the moon. It made me recall the moment earlier in the day and how joy-filled I felt. I really felt quite silly thinking this way but it had really stuck with me.
When meeting with my client, our discussion led to joy and how there is so much negativity and tragedy in the world that people get caught up in complaining and the heaviness of it all. I started to describe to her my morning and the moon. She too had seen the moon that morning! She too had been fascinated with it.
It made me think that joy is subjective. Which gives us the opportunity to see and experience joy in such a variety of ways.
The majority of people tend to stay in the negative viewpoint. It’s called negative bias. Say, you go on a hike, what do you think you will remember more vividly about the hike: the snake you encountered or the beautiful scenery along the way? Most people will remember the rattlesnake incident better, because negative experiences tend to affect them much more than positive ones. Negativity is contagious, however, the cool thing is that positivity is contagious also.
Something else to consider when getting into a mindset of joy is that when you start looking and being aware of joy it’s much easier to experience. I drive an orange car, I never really noticed orange cars before, but now that I drive one I see them often. Have you noticed this also? You’ve never paid that much attention to whatever the object is, but you take an interest in it, and then you realize they are all around!
One more thing, what is your definition of joy? According to the Webster dictionary the definition of joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. This is true however, I also view joy as the simple things in life. I follow at least five different accounts on Instagram that have Labrador puppies. They bring me great joy watching them play, and their wiggly tails. I find myself smiling and feeling the warm fuzzy in my heart center.
It all boils down to a simple step, awareness. When we choose to be aware of joy we experience more joy. Here is your opportunity, become more aware of the simple joys in your life, you will be amazed how much better emotionally, physically and even spiritually you will feel!
